castrating

verb

present participle of castrate
as in undermining
to deprive of emotional or intellectual vitality a movie version that castrates the hard-hitting novel

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of castrating Under colonial rule hijras were accused of acting as male prostitutes and of kidnapping and castrating children to grow their community. — Charles Preston, Encyclopedia Britannica, 28 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for castrating
  1. undermining
  2. draining
  3. weakening
  4. exhausting
  5. wearing
  6. lobotomizing
Verb
  • At the time of the last catastrophe, a convulsive shift in media consumption began undermining the value of the legacy distribution scheme, which in turn led to grave uncertainties related to revenue sharing.
    — Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 6 Nov. 2026
  • More fundamentally, Vietnam showed that misadventures abroad could boomerang, weakening American democracy and societal cohesion and, ultimately, undermining the country’s international standing.
    — David Sacks, Foreign Affairs, 6 Nov. 2026
Definition of undermining
Verb
  • Instead, Wigon intercuts Winifred’s big moment with a confounding fantasy sequence, draining all its impact.
    — Katie Walsh, Los Angeles Times, 13 Nov. 2026
  • Stick cuttings in well-draining potting mix or another lightweight medium like sand.
    — Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 13 Nov. 2026
Definition of draining
Verb
  • Rather than weakening the material, these networks create electrical hotspots that enhance its antibacterial activity.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 12 Nov. 2026
  • The wrinkle here is that investor appetite for an Anthropic IPO appears to be weakening.
    — Alexa LoMonaco, CNBC, 9 Nov. 2026
Definition of weakening
Verb
  • This heats the air dramatically, expanding it and exhausting the hot gas at a much higher velocity than normal.
    — Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 1 Nov. 2026
  • So, get ready for mountain vistas and exhausting cycling days to take your breath away and questions about your life choices to swirl around in your head!
    — Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of exhausting
Verb
  • According to police and fire department accounts, Banks, who was wearing only underwear, was acting erratically and attempted to rob other citizens before officers arrived.
    — Brian Maass, CBS News, 13 Nov. 2026
  • The training process also includes virtual reality (VR), with an operator wearing a headset and gloves to guide Gallop through tasks using the same components and cameras found at the actual workstation.
    — Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 13 Nov. 2026
Definition of wearing
Verb
  • However, new safeguards quickly frustrated AI researchers, who accused the company of intentionally lobotomizing Fable 5.
    — Victor Tangermann, Futurism, 11 June 2026
  • Indeed, Calvin is cheerfully lobotomizing a snowman.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 10 Apr. 2026
Definition of lobotomizing

Browse Nearby Words

castrates
castrating
casts
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Castrating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/castrating. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of lissome

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

31 Useful Rhetorical Devices

More Commonly Misspelled Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Longest Long Words List

The Words of the Week - Nov. 13

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
speech-bubble-untangle
Simplify The Convoluted Expression Quiz A quiz that’s as “uncomplicated as a round de...
See All